Charnwood Borough Council - Leading in Leicestershire

SCIENTISTS have moved a step closer to identifying the cause of a condition which is affecting Oak trees in a number of woods.

The condition, which has been found in Charnwood Borough Council-owned Booth Wood, Gorse Covert and the Outwoods as well as a number of other local sites including Swithland Wood, has been described as an episode of ‘acute oak decline’.

Pathologists from the Forestry Commission’s Forest Research Agency have discovered a number of bacteria in samples taken from trees

Further tests are now being carried out on saplings in a bid to pinpoint which bacteria are responsible but it could be several months before the exact cause is known.

Dr Sandra Denman, a Senior Forest Pathologist with Forest Research, said: “Our initial tests are consistently indicating that bacteria from three different genera, or groups, are associated with the bleeding areas visible on the oak trees in Loughborough.

“However, we need to do a lot more work to identify the particular species of the bacteria and to find out the role that each one plays in this episode of acute oak decline.

“Research of this kind if very difficult to do and takes many months, even years, but we are encouraged by the progress we have made so far.”

The condition was first spotted in Booth Wood in 2002 when it affected a couple of trees a year but by 2007, more than 200 trees had been infected.

Oaks at a number of other local sites including the Outwoods were then discovered to have symptoms of the condition - bleeding cankers and a rapid deterioration in health.

In autumn 2007 and March this year, the Forestry Commission’s experts took a number of samples of roots from some of the diseased oak trees.

Soil around them was also taken for analysis in a bid to establish whether the deteriorating health of the trees can be linked to any soil-borne or root-rotting organisms.

Mark Graham, Charnwood Borough Council’s Wildlife Officer, welcomed the findings but said it would be some time before the exact cause would be known.

He said: “It’s encouraging that some progress has been made, although we are still a long way from having a definite answer.

“This type of research is slow by its very nature but it’s good there have been some developments in pinpointing what is responsible for this condition.”

Cllr Peter Lewis, Charnwood Borough Council’s Cabinet member for Leisure, said: “We care passionately about our woodland in Charnwood and are delighted the Forestry Commission’s Forest Research Agency has made progress in identifying what’s causing this condition.

Further information about oak decline is available from the Forest Research website, www.forestresearch.gov.uk